Complaint volume
142 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
142 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Toyota RAV4, grouped by component category.
Buyer interpretation
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
142 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
The most common categories are unknown or other, electrical system, steering. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Enriched records include 18 crash reports, 1 fire report, 9 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage is available on 10 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 39,084 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
142 total complaints on record
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My Gas tank does not fill up properly. It seems to trigger the automatic shut off at gas stations when it is only 3/4 full. I then have to keep putting gas it with about 6 more shut offs to get the tank full. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | STEERING | Car shut off while driving because warning light for the power steering came on p.451stating check power steering fluid level. Vehicle has either a sealed power steering system or its electric. It was raining at the time that this happened. This is a big risk factor that could have led to a wreck but thank god that it did not was able to get out of traffic and stop. It took an hour of waiting before the vehicle would start back up and run properly. Unable to reproduce the problem at this time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2023 Toyota Rav4 hybrid (XSE) is said to have fuel tank capacity of 14.5 Gal with range in miles (city/hwy) 594.5/551.0 mi. When I first got my car, I can fuel it up to 520 mile driving distance. After a while, I can only fuel up to 430 mile, with no other accident. The tank cannot be fully fueled. This incidence has been widely observed in owners with the same year model. The actual reason is unknown. Some went to the dealership and replaced the sensor, some just got diagnosed with no issue. None of these has actually fixed the issue. The real answer could be the issue of the sensor or tank, or something else. This malfunction with unknown reason is risky for the use of the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | I was pulling into a parking spot and my vehicle suddenly accelerated. I slammed on the brakes and the car did stop, but not before hitting a railing in front of me. There were also trees close to the railing, so the camera should have detected those as a barrier and I believe the veauto-braked, even if I had not hit the brakes. This is a safety concern because the vehicle would have plowed over any person in front of the vehicle. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ENGINE | Car had error on dashboard of Engine stopped power steering low, car is available for inspection. Car would not start in the middle of the night while raining, had smoke coming out the front. Problem not reproduced at dealership. No other warnings were shown beforehand. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | Rearview camera quit for 3-4 seconds when I was backup. There was a car in my blind spot, aft right quarter, that I couldn't see and I hit his left front panel/headlight causing $2200. damage to his car plus my car. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was a loud sound like a gunshot coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's wife slightly opened the sunroof cover and discovered that the sunroof had shattered into pieces. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 16,000 |
| Dec 2024 | ENGINE | This happened on [XXX] in Oakland CA, it was a rainy day. I drove off the freeway and then parked the vehicle in the parking lot. The car was in idle mode. After about 10 minutes the engine started to stall, and then shut off completely. I tried to restart the engine but it failed. The dashboard showed an error message "Engine Stopped, Steering Power Low". I suspected that rainwater entered into the engine from the air intake. After waiting for about 2 hours, I was able to restart the vehicle, and then everything seemed to be normal. Toyota should announce a recall for this problem as this is very dangerous to operate the vehicle on the freeway on rainy days. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While at stop light notices my 2023 Toyota Rav 4 LE engine was steaming. Pulled into a parking lot when Power steering fluid low warning light came on and said that the engine will stop. After I put in some power steering fluid the dash warning lights lit up, with the following warning lights: Pre-collision brake system failure, Collision brake system failure, Secondary collision system failure and check engine light came on. Had vehicle towed to dealership, they did an test and confirmed several error codes and they are waiting on Toyota engineers to provide information on cause and remedy. While at dealership was told by service adviser that there was sat least one other individual with the same issue. The dealership unfortunately don’t know the cause of the problem | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | As I was driving on the highway, the glass of my sunroof imploded. There were no other cars around nor was there any people. It sounded as if something popped above my head. I researched this incident and apparently there are other RAV4 owners that had the same problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Leaving my house and around 20 ft away the soon roof burst. Nothing hit it, i live in a rural area, asphalt road. Now toyota dealer is saying that something hit the soon roof. I checked online and there are several incidents with the same model. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving at about 30 mph on [XXX] on Sunday, [XXX] at [XXX] the moonroof suddenly exploded. It sounded like a gunshot and startled me. I was not going under an overpass, there were no people nearby who would have thrown anything at the car, and I was not following another vehicle. I believe the glass shattered as result of mechanical defect. The moonroof was closed at the time so I was not hit with flying glass, but the situation could have been quite dangerous had the roof been open. I also think the loud sound of glass exploding could cause other motorists to jerk the wheel in shock at the loud noise. Naturally, there were shards of glass flying off my vehicle afterward, which creates something of a road hazard for anyone following behind. I have had the moonroof inspected by the Toyota dealer. They advise that glass is not covered under warranty, which is nonsense because at the least it violates the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. But, it is hard to prove a manufacturer's defect so I will be submitting a claim through insurance. In my opnion, Toyota should cover the repair costs as I did nothing wrong and was not hit by a foreign object. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | Under braking conditions and hitting a bump on a paved road, the vehicle will have a 1 to 3 second momentary loss of braking. At the same time, a grinding noise, similar to (if not the same as) the ABS system is heard, and the VSC light flashes. The occurrence of this problem is unpredictable, the severity is inconsistent. It happens across various ranges of brake pressure/deceleration rates and speeds. No accident has occurred to date with this vehicle, but we have had close calls. In some cases, our vehicle has inadvertently entered controlled intersections due to loss of braking. Dealer has inspected the problem but has been unable to replicate or resolve to date. Based on internet research, this appears to be a common problem. Very concerned this could occur at the wrong time and lead to an accident, causing injury or death due to behaviors of the vehicle's braking (and loss of) being outside the driver's control. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sunroof glass blew out. Driving down road, no traffic, sounded like a shotgun blast. Pulled over and saw the sunroof had a hole and the rest was crystallized. Had the interior cover been pulled back we would have been showered with broken glass. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | STRUCTURE | The paint of the exterior body is peeling off after becoming bubble on the surface. It appears all over the body including hood, roof, doors, etc. For reference, please see attached photos. This can eventually start rusting. This has come to know only after using a car for a year and four months, which proves this needs to be addressed because it may be going to start rusting other parts of the body or structural components. Car is available for inspection, on request. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ENGINE | UNKNOWN. I drove my car off the dealership lot and not even 10 minutes into my ride home, as I pulled of the highway, I noticed that the RPM of the vehicle was slowing down. I pressed down harder on the gas to get it to accelerate but it just kept jerking and slowing down. Eventually I tried to get off to the side of the road and the car stopped in the middle of two lanes. The Check Engine, Battery warning and Electric Power Steering lights all came on the dashboard. There was also another error message: Engine Stopped Steering Power Low. I called the dealership and they came and towed the car. Not sure what the issue is but saw on some forums that this has happened to other RAV4 owners on used and brand new cars as well. Someone encouraged users to report it to the NHTSA so Toyota is aware of the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While making a slow right turn into a carport (1-2 mph), the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own and crashed into the carport wall, continued to full throttle causing the tire to skip along side of the wall. The vehicle is currently not being used as we continue with the process with our insurance provider and begin to initiate contact with the car dealer. There were no warning lights or indications of a malfunctioning vehicle prior to that point. Initial online research provided at least 10 other reports that the exact same occurence happended to other 2023 RAV owners causing vehcile and property damage. We are fearful to use this vehicle now and would like to submit a safety report to prevent any similar instances in the future that may result in serious injury or death. NOTE: We also have video footage of the incident from our carport security camera, if you need that for further review. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving early in the morning on 95 without other traffic nearby, my moonroof exploded. There was no crack of a rock, only a very loud pop. The glass broke outward. I pushed it in to vacuum the pieces out in the picture attached | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING | When I do these checks I have my hands lightly on the wheel ready to correct the car when needed. The lane control assist tends to stay to the left of the lane, crossing over the left side lane markers, it also tends to head towards the right side of the lane, crossing over the right side lane markers without compensating. At times it does compensate but it causes the car to go back and forth in the lane without settling out. There have been times when the car is steered to the right with no compensation and without my correction would have gone off the road. The lane warning system doesn't always work. If I did not have diligence when using the system I would no doubt have gone off the road and crashed. The dealer has not checked the car, they say this is how it works even on their personal Toyotas. These problems have been prominent and have existed since the purchase of the car in 2023. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while cleaning the vehicle, the contact became aware that there was water coming from the rear passenger’s side door. The contact opened the rear passenger’s side door, and water poured onto the ground. Additionally, the rear passenger’s side door made a sloshing sound while being closed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where Technical Service Bulletin: 0084-21 (Sloshing or Splashing Noise from Inside One or More Door Panels) was performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 19,100. | Crash: No Fire: No | 19,100 |
| Jul 2024 | SUSPENSION | At estimated 25500 miles in the vehicle, I started to feel vibration at 65- 75 mph. Bouncy ride and slight bad bearing noise at 45 mph . After taking to the dealer, they also felt vibration and recommended tire balancing. After having that done, the problem still existed. I took the car next day and at first they where not willing to check my car but then when I forced, they test drove and confirmed light road noise and light vibration. After a little checking, they said the tires are feathering and should get new tires and or alignment. The tires only have 25500 miles and they were serviced by totota .I got new tires from from NTB and rebalanced and the issue still existed. I then also got alignment from another shop even then the vibration and bad bearing noise still exist. After searching, I have read many others had this issue with their rav4 and dealers just say it's normal . I as years of experience know it's not normal. The origin equipment tires that came with new vehicle were Dunlop grandtrek pt20. The new tires I got are Cooper Endeavor plus. Issue is definitely not the tires. Humbly request NHTSA to look into this as this is ongoing issue with many new Toyota Rav4. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | AIR BAGS | Driving NB when a Toyota Corolla drove into my lane of traffic hitting me head on. No air bag deployed in my RAV but all air bags deployed in the Corolla. No air bag light was on prior to the accident. My vehicle data recorder was copied by a Bosch technician and forwarded to Toyota Corp. The body shop manager stated that my vehicle was the first he had encountered with the extent of front damage where the air bag(s) did not deploy | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Toyota OEM windshield glass has SEVERE distortions/waviness in glass. I have had my windshield replaced 3 times now with Toyota OEM glass and the issue is still not resolved all 3 have had this distortion/wavyness in the glass. I don’t want aftermarket glass in a brand new car especially with all the safety features that relies on glass clarity, but Toyota is making it hard not to choose that option. Toyota needs to do better on quality control of their glass. The distortion is happening in the line of sight for the driver causing dizziness and issues while driving, as well as BAD wavyness around the edges. Ive done some research into this as well and I am not the only Toyota driver having this issue with their glass. I’ve never owned a vehicle that did this and it’s very disappointing and frustrating that I am not able to have a clear windshield in my brand new car. I called Toyota of America but they basically pushed me off onto the dealership. Someone needs to contact the MFG and make them aware of this problem so I can get glass that is normal. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I believe Toyota is falsifying the MPG rating to make it appear they are getting better gas mileage than they are actually getting. On a new Toyota Rav4 bought last year, the speedometer always reads 3 miles faster that my actual speed. This is confirmed by my stand-alone GPS unit and my iPhone as well. I have since checked out other new Toyotas and found the same error. This error favors Toyota because if make the onboard computer report that you are achieving better MPG that you are. This error is also recording more fictitious miles driven, on your car, than you actually have driven and causing you to get servicing sooner as well as running out your warranty quicker than it should. However, I have since traded in this vehicle for a different vehicle that I feel is more honest and accurate with their information. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | STRUCTURE,SERVICE BRAKES | The brakes failed, without warning, while parking; causing me to hit a pole/wall in my employer’s parking garage on April 12, 2024. I was injured, and obtained care from UChicago Medical Center. Toyota assigned an independent investigator to assess my vehicle; which was completed on April 29, 2024. Per Toyota, no brake issues were noted. My vehicle remained at Oak Lawn Toyota from April 12, 2024- May 31, 2024. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |